A reader recently sent in a tip about a newly opened “Indian-accented Chipotle” that opened roughly 3 weeks ago on 8th Avenue, just north of 51st Street. When I went to check it out, I noted with some amusement that it is actually directly next to an actual Chipotle and wondered if this was intentional – those lines get pretty long, right? (I’ve never actually really eaten at Chipotle.)

There are Sichuan restaurants all over the city, but the largest concentration of them has to be in Midtown West. I have no statistics to back that statement up but now that Savour Sichuan has opened in the old China Sun. our spice receptors in Midtown West will never yearn for heat again. We first heard about this place from Eater, who seems to have added it to their regular take-out rotation. I finally got a chance to visit this past week and tried two dishes.

As we’ve mentioned on this blog before, the permitting system for mobile food vendors is broken. Since the 1980′s there has been a strict limit on the number of permits available for vendors. And unless you were lucky enough to purchase one back then, you basically have to rent one from somebody that was. While the DOH only charges $200 every two years to renew the permit, the actual permit holders are charging food vendors well over 100 times that amount. It makes for a next to impossible task that both criminalizes vendors and limits the opportunities for new immigrants.

The good news is the Street Vendor Project is working on a new campaign to lift the caps. You can sign the petition online, but tomorrow the SVP will be at Cinnamon Snail talking to people about the situation and signing a petition to gain support for the campaign. The truck will be parked a little outside of Midtown on 21st and Fifth Avenue, but it’s worth the walk to support the situation and to get one last vegan doughnut before the truck closes for good on Saturday.

Midtown East will soon get a new dose of Thai food, as the Rhong-Tiam Burger truck is opening a brick and mortar shop on Lexington Ave. and 39th. There’s no word yet on the menu, but by the looks of their website, it’ll be more than just Asian-inspired burgers and will focus on Thai food. So we know very little, but at least we have something new replacing Desi Shack. What do you all think? Excited?

Ktown mainstay Kunjip reopened on the south side of 32nd street a few months ago, slightly closer to 6th Avenue than before. I will admit to dining here regularly at 3 or 4am after drunken nights out. The worst part was always waiting for a table. Why so many people at that hour? We all knew it’s one of the better restaurants opened at that hour. But look at this new space of two sprawling floors!

From 11am until 4pm today at Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central Terminal, there will be complimentary samples of Nutella with pancakes, a custom Nutella pancake bar, and photo opps with Nutella props. Chef Ansel also designed the limited edition Pancake Cone (pictured) to help celebrate. Freeloaders, engage!

Update: At 1:25pm, there was no line for silver dollar pancakes with Nutella nor the pancake bar with customizable toppings. There was a line of roughly 50-75 people for the Pancake Cones being served by Chef Dominique himself, and I was told there were about 350 more to go (Chef will leave once they’re done). I think if you ask nicely, he’ll even pose for a picture with you…

Japan Week at Grand Central Means Food Samples: Starting Wednesday, Japan Week comes to Vanderbilt Hall. It's mostly an event to drive tourism, but what we care about are the foods on offer in their version of a Japanese department store food market. You can sample ramen and mazeman noodles, miso soup, tofu and takoyaki, as well as some sweets. Hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, and 1o a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, but you might want to go early to avoid the masses and ensure you get some samples.

We got some very sad news over the weekend. Adam Sobel, the owner of four-time Vendy Award winning Cinnamon Snail, announced on Facebook that after five years on the road, the truck will be closing for good.

Their Mobile Food Vendor permit expires at the end of February and they have not been able to secure another permit. This is one of the biggest hurdles food trucks and carts must deal with. Since there are no more permits available through the Department of Health, you must find another way to obtain one which is next to impossible. It is very expensive and often times not completely legal.

We will sincerely miss this very special truck. Their mission was to bring tasty vegan food to an audience that might otherwise never try it. And considering the carnivorous writers here at Midtown Lunch have donated so much bandwidth and coverage to a completely meat-less truck, I think we can safely say that they have accomplished their mission.

This will not be the last we see of Adam and his terrific food. He has a cookbook coming out in May and is actively searching for another food project, either under the Cinnamon Snail brand or a new vegan concept. Either way, we just ask that he considers Midtown and we can’t wait to see what he does next!

In the meantime, you have two weeks left to enjoy those vegan donuts and spicy seitan sandwiches!